Hall of Fame Mourns Loss of Lamar Hunt
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kat Anderson
194 Bellevue Ave.
Newport,
401-849-3990
kat@tennisfame.com
12/14/06 - Newport, RI--The International Tennis Hall of Fame mourns the loss of Lamar Hunt, a 1993 Hall of Fame inductee, who died last night in Dallas, Texas after a long battle with cancer. He was 74.
Born in El Dorado, Arkansas in 1932, Lamar Hunt became one of the great innovators in American sports. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a Contributor to the sport in 1993. Hunt was a co-founder and organizer of World Championship Tennis in 1967, a new circuit for professional players introducing a worldwide season of tournaments, logo apparel, corporate sponsorship, and significant player prize money. World Championship Tennis existed for 23 years, giving way to the start of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), transforming tennis and challenging the sport to attain higher goals and standards.
Uniquely, Hunt is the only individual to have been inducted into three major Halls of Fame: Pro Football Hall of Fame (1972); Soccer Hall of Fame (1982); and International Tennis Hall of Fame (1993).
Hunt helped develop and build the American Football League (AFL) in 1959, and is credited with coining the term “Super Bowl.” He was currently owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, formerly the Dallas Texans who moved to Kansas City in 1963 and renamed. The AFL and National Football League (NFL) merged in 1966 producing the modern era of professional football. The trophy presented annually to the American Football Conference Champions is named in Hunt’s honor - the Lamar Hunt Trophy.
Hunt was also an original investor in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards, moving into ownership of the Dallas Tornado in 1967. A sports model franchise for 14 years, Hunt saw the league grow from five clubs to 24 in ten years. The NASL folded in 1985, but when Major League Soccer (MLS) formed in 1996, Hunt once again became a major player in an effort for the United States to take its place on soccer’s world stage.
As a child Hunt was nicknamed “Game'' because of his passion for inventing new games and scoring systems. This passion continued as Hunt is credited with introducing the two-point post-touchdown conversion to the NFL.
Lamar Hunt is survived by his wife, Norma; daughter Sharon Munson, and sons Lamar Jr., Clark and Daniel.
Links:
www.tennisfame.com
